Ever since the brown rice french toast pudding bake was created, I’ve been thinking about a savory version. Since it’s obvious there is a huge amount of grated zucchini at my house, and I had leftover roasted veggies + rice on hand, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

Last night, I roasted a giant pan of:

potatoes

chickpeas

eggplant

carrots

corn

onion

garlic

s+p + sunflower oil

For ~40min @400* and then broiled for a few minutes to crisp.

I also cooked a gigantic pot of wild brown rice.

I wanted to try something different with the savory version.

First, instead of 1 larger bake, I made these in a muffin tin.

I also made 2 versions.

1 with egg.

And 1 with a flax egg.

Many of you asked about a vegan version for the french toast rice bake. I wanted to see what happened when a flax-egg was mixed in. While somewhat egg-like, a flax-egg does not have the exact binding properties of a real egg. It can work really well for holding flour together, but my hopes weren’t high for holding cooked rice together.

vegan on the left – egg version on the right

The egg version finished cooking about 5min before the flax-egg version.

I slide a knife around the outside, and gently scooped out with a fork. They hold together well but are still somewhat delicate when removing from the pan. If using a larger baking dish [like my typical mini soup crocks] lining with parchment is the best non-stick option. I’ve also found that cooking spray is much more reliable than rubbing the pan with oil or butter.

I rubbed the muffin tin with coconut oil, which worked well enough.

These would be amazing with a little cheese broiled on top for a finishing touch!

Preheat your oven to 375* and grease 3 muffin tins with coconut oil, butter or cooking spray. You can also use a larger bake [~4” wide x 1.5” deep] and line with parchment or grease.

In a small bowl whisk the egg and then whisk in the milk + flour.

Mix in zucchini, roasted vegetables, brown rice, s+p until combined.

Pour into muffin tins and pat down [tins will be full to the top].

Bake for 20-25min, until golden brown and “set” when touched.

Run a knife around the bakes and carefully scoop out with a fork.

*If you don’t have pre-roasted vegetables, feel free to use 1/2-2/3c grated zucchini [well drained]. You can also use spinach, kale, mushrooms etc, chopped into small pieces.

The vegan-flax version, were definitely gooier than their egg counterparts. They didn’t hold together completely and were much softer. The flax flavor was also noticeable. I preferred the overall taste + texture of the egg-version, but still gobbled up the flax batch as well. A doable option, but didn’t quite hold together, as expected.

Make a double or triple batch of either version, then let fully cool and store covered in the fridge. Heat them up in the morning with salsa and throw them into a tortilla. Or you can do the same for lunch or dinner with some fresh, leafy greens on the side.

OR, you can snatch cold bites from the fridge, every time you walk in the kitchen. [guilty]